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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. board — a committee
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. shower — rain
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pit — in a race
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bat — the animal
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cap — a lid
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. board — to get on
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com